Mahkota dewa (Phaleria macrocarpa)
Common names
- Mahkota dewa (Malay)
- God’s crown (English)
- Huang kuang (Chinese)
Description
- a shrub or an evergreen tree, height ranges from 1–18 m, with 1 m long straight root exuding sap, erect trunk, cylindrical, up to about 15 cm of diameter, smooth or slightly wrinkled brownish bark and dense crown
- leaves simple, oppositely arrangement, elliptic to oblong lanceolate with pointed apex, 7–14 cm long and 3–5 cm broad, coriaceous, dark green in colour; petiole 0.5 cm long
- inflorescence umbel type, peduncle 0.3–2 cm long, borne in the axil of the leaves, carrying 2–5 white sessile flowers
- flowers tubular shaped, 1.5–3.5 cm long, whitish, fragrant, perfect flower with four sepals, four or five petals, 8 stamens and a carpel
- fruits simple, fleshy drupe with one or two seeds, round or elliptical in shape, matured fruit is 3–5 cm in diameter, colour of matured fruit is green and turns to brightly red or maroon when it ripens
- seeds dicotyledonous with exalbuminous seeds type, brown in colour, ovoid, anatropous and exist as 1-2 seeds per fruit
Chemical constituents
By aqueous extract of dried fruit: carbohydrate (glucose and sucrose)
By methanol extract of pericarp and mesocarp of dried fruit:
flavonoid compounds (kaempferol, myricetin, naringin, rutin and quercetin), glycosides (2,4’,6-trihydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone-2- O-β-D-glycoside; phalerin and mangiferin)
By ethanol extract (95%) of the pit of dried fruit:
glycosides (4,4’-dihydroxy-2-methoxybenzo-phenone-6-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, mangiferin and kaempferol-3-O- β-D-glucoside), fatty acids (dodecanoic acid, palmitic acid and ethyl stearate)
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By ethyl acetate extract of P. macrocarpa dried fruit:
sterol (β-sitosterol and stigmasterol) and steroid (cycloargetanol), benzophenone derivatives (2,6,4’-trihydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone and 6,4’-dihydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone-2-O-β-D-glucopyranoside)
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By chloroform extract of P. macrocarpa dried fruit:
triterpenoids (24-methylenecycloartan-3-one and 2,4-methyl-9,1,9-cyclolanost-25-en-3-ol), sesquiterpene glucoside (icariside C3 )
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By hexane extract of P. macrocarpa dried fruit:
fatty acids (palmitic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid and linolenic acid)
Traditional uses
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used to treat flu, rheumatism, heart diseases and cancer
Fruit
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used to treat dysentery, allergy, tumour and impotency
Leaves
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beneficial in the treatment of bone cancer
Stem
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used to counter breast cancer, cervix cancer, lung disease, liver, and heart diseases
Eggshells of seeds
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for the treatment of skin conditions and for ornamental cultivation purposes
Seeds: used as an external medicine
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lowering blood sugar levels
Fruit (dried): brew with hot water and drink it (as herbal tea)
Preparation/ parts of plants used